


Forever By Your Side

by Chutaku



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: After highschool, Aged-Up Character(s), Eventual Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Crack, Moca being Moca, Moca helping Ran in her own way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27465181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chutaku/pseuds/Chutaku
Summary: short ver: Moca teases Ran for 2,000 words and tries to make her feel betterA year after highschool, Afterglow still has frequent practices and meetups together, but time is slowly pulling them apart. Even Ran, who always knows what she wants, is starting to feel lost. That's why her roommate, Moca, takes up the mantle of helping out Ran, though those methods are certainly... different
Relationships: Aoba Moca/Mitake Ran
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Forever By Your Side

“Hey~,” drawled Moca. “Ran-chan~!”

An affable, yet sometimes annoying, ivory-haired girl rolled over and peeked at her less open friend who was lying on the bunk bed below hers. Right this moment, the closed black-haired girl was in an irritable mood and didn’t want to deal with Moca right now.

She sighed. “Yes, Moca? What’s the matter?” Ran asked.

“Nothing much,” replied Moca, who was trying her best to hide the grin growing on her face with her usual bored, spacy look.

But Ran and Moca were childhood friends, and after being together for over 10 years, you could say they shared a special bond- almost like a mental link.

“I just felt like talking to my wonderful, esteemed friend Ran-chan~,” Moca finished, now hanging by her feet so her head was looking down at Ran. 

Ran tried to mask her annoyance- she’d been through this enough times to know that if she didn’t have much of a reaction Moca would stop and do something else. Or just tease her more. Her eyebrows furrowed unconsciously and she bit her lip, holding back a rather rude remark. 

Ran usually could easily put up with Moca’s teasing, but she was trying especially hard to focus now. She and Moca had graduated highschool a year earlier, and Ran had no idea what to do, which wasn’t what she was usually like. Ran just wasn’t that type of person- she always knew what she wanted.

Her band that she formed with her childhood friends, Afterglow, was still having rehearsals every other day, but you could tell that the five friends were growing distant. They were all old enough to travel whenever and wherever they wanted, but after high school each of their futures seemed to walk different paths.

She was living with her closest friend, Moca, in an apartment they rented close to their parent’s homes, their former highschool, and most importantly,the live house, where they practiced. 

Tomoe was doing some drumming gigs here and there and helping out with festivals and events. She was wondering if she should get a job as a fashion designer or even model her own clothes if her business got big enough, but she knew her true calling was playing the drums in Afterglow. Afterglow was popular, but it wasn’t a job that would bring a steady supply of money in. 

Ran kept in touch and they met up every weekend, but they were all fairly worried about their futures, even if they didn’t admit it. And they all had one particular thought: I wish if our careers would be playing in Afterglow, so we could have fun and stay together forever.

These thoughts kept flashing in Ran’s mind, so she tried writing them all down as well as plans for her future in a small journal she had brought. Concentration was something that she needed- something that was broken by an especially smug girl looking down at her.

“Eeehhh~? Ran-chan, you look like you’re thinking… a lot. Did I bother you? Sorry~,” Moca said, in her slow way of talking. She raised her eyebrows and didn’t bother to contain the smug grin breaking out of her face anymore.

Ran sat up straight and swept her things aside, now very annoyed. She couldn’t think of that certain train of thoughts anymore.  _ Moca! One of these days… _

“You don’t look very sorry,” Ran pointedly said, trying to avoid snapping at her. 

“Ah~, Ran-chan. Yes, the humble servant Moca bows down and apologizes to the revered leader of the kingdom of Afterglo-” 

“Stop it Moca!” Ran cut her off, looking off to the other side. She hated it when Moca started talking like this.

“Oh no~. Now Ran is mad at poor Moca-chan~” Moca said smugly. Just as Ran angrily turned around, Moca leapt off her bed and snatched Ran’s journal.

“Hey! Moca, give. That. back!” Ran snapped, chasing after Moca. After running in circles pointlessly, Ran grabbed Moca’s wrist and pinned it to the wall while taking back her journal. 

Moca moved her eyebrows up and smugly looked at Ran’s hand on hers. “Ooo~, Ran-chan, what is this? A sudden… confession?” she smirked.

Ran quickly removed her hand and replied, “Moca, stop being so silly all the time. We’re not even highschoolers anymore, you know.”

Moca raised her eyebrows again and moved her arms up the air as if she was saying a great speech. “A Moca that is not silly is no Moca at all,” she said in a cryptic voice.

Ran sighed and resigned. “That is true. After all, that’s what makes you you, I suppose,” she admitted.

Moca stopped for a while and just stared into Ran’s eyes.

_ Tick, tock, tick, tock _ . The clock went on, not bothered by the awkward silence only felt by Ran.

“Hey, Ran… I can see myself~. In your eyes.” Moca whispered, more to herself than Ran.

Walking away quickly, Ran tried to act natural and unbothered and hide the pink dusting her cheeks. “H-hey, uhm, Moca, what do you want for dinner? It’s getting late,” Ran asked.

Moca didn’t even need to see or hear Ran to notice how flustered she was. Not as much as Himari when Kaoru was nearby, but it was still there.

_ Ho ho ho _ , thought Moca happily, with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.  _ I think for dinner… I’ll have some flustered Ran. _

“Moca? Hello?” Ran asked again. “What do you want for dinner?”

“O, yes, dinner! Food~ Mmm, I think I’ll have…  _ some freshly baked buns!”  _ Moca replied.

“Moca!” Ran sighed again and face-palmed.  _ You would think she would grow out of her bun addiction, but no, even now as an adult all she ever eats is buns. _

“I don’t get how you’re still this healthy! All you eat is buns and bread. Try something new, okay?” Ran told Moca.

“But bread is the b e s t!” Moca said, then pulled a silly face. “Everything else is blecky!” Moca said in a childish voice.

“Oh, Moca, grow up, will you?” Ran said, with a slight smile on her face.

For Moca, that was a huge victory. Even though people said Ran always looked down, expressionless, or angry, those were just others. They didn’t know Ran. But Moca did, and the thing that bothered her the most was when Ran was down. For the past weeks, Ran had been worried. Moca knew if she said this to Ran she would deny it, so…

_ I guess Agent Moca will just have to work undercover! _ , thought Moca.  _ First Agent Moca just needs to find out what’s stressing out Ran-chan~ the #1 priority client! _

Her thoughts were interrupted by the dinging of the doorbell and the smell of pizza drifting in the air. Before long Moca and Ran were seated at the table, eating.

“Mmm!” gushed Moca. “Pizza is the best!”

Ran raised a questioning eyebrow at her friend, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Really, Moca? I thought you said-”

“Oh no, I meant, er-” Moca stammered.

Ran let a tiny smirk show- Moca was always teasing her, so why shouldn’t she get her back at least once? This time, she would have the upper hand.

But just as Himari and the rest of their friends would always say, Moca and Ran had a special bond. Almost like, perhaps… a mental link of sorts.

Moca could tell what Ran was thinking, she just had a feeling- and that feeling made Moca feel more smug than ever. Plans of how to fluster and embarrass Ran flew through her mind, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning.

Of course, this link wasn’t one sided though- Ran also had a creeping premonition that made her want to run away.

“ _ Ooh, Ran ran away!” _

Ran bit her lip and mentally shook herself as that cringey scene flooded her memories. Tsumugi had a small phase where she tried to change who she was because of a lack of audience comments about her. When Tsumugi finally came to a rehearsal, she wasn’t herself anymore. Ran felt frustrated and had… well, ran away. Or in her words, went outside to take a quick breather.

_ Well, who wouldn’t have? That definitely wasn’t my friend, _ Ran thought.

Moca was looking straight at Ran again, like how a lion looks at its prey before chomping it to pieces. Or in this case… maybe a sloth or panda. Which was less threatening, but with an exceedingly dangerous smug level.

For a moment, Ran thought that there should be a national smug level that one, especially people named Moca Aoba, couldn’t exceed for the welfare of people, especially people named Ran Mitake.

During this mental showdown, Moca recovered quickly as she couldn’t stand the fact of Ran one-upping her.

“What I meant was, that pizza isn’t that bad. Especially because there’s also bread in the pizza, Ran-chan~,” finished Moca sweetly.

“Moca, why were we thinking so intensely over pizza?”

“Well well, Ran, I’m sure the both of us know that it was more than that,” Moca replied. She lifted her slice of pizza above her head, tilted back her head, and took a big bite out of it. Then she proceeded to tilt her head sideways and smirk at Ran with a smug look on her face. Then again, when doesn’t Moca have a smug look?

_ Leave it to Moca to not even allow me to eat pizza in peace _ , thought Ran.

But what Ran didn’t realize-no, she knew, but didn’t think about it- was that she wasn’t worried at all when she was talking to Moca. Or to be more specific, when Moca was teasing her and… annoying her?

But deep down, Moca was just worried about Ran. Moca didn’t think she had any magical therapy powers, so she tried to help Ran using what she had: unlimited smugness, jokes, and teasing. Moca constantly teased and pestered Ran to help Ran think about things other than her worries, and Ran never snapped at Moca because… maybe, in her subconscious, she knew this. But both friends were too embarrassed to say this aloud to anyone else, especially not each other.

But maybe, somehow, they already knew what the other thought.

As they finished their dinner, Ran sat down on her bed and had flashbacks to the past: worrying about her future, trying to move out of her parent’s house as soon as she could, and Moca telling her she already had a place. For both of them. 

_ I was reluctant to move in with her, _ Ran thought.  _ Even though it might be a bit frustrating at times, I don’t regret it _ .

Annnd… also flashbacks to all those jokes that Moca had made. 

_ Ooh~, Ran-chan… are you sure you don’t mind sharing a room with me?~ _

They had settled on bunk beds after that. Maybe a bit smaller and childish, but it saved a lot of room.

A familiar sound brought Ran back from her thoughts. Ran sighed and glanced across the room, already knowing what was happening but hoping it wasn’t true.

Moca was trying to cram a baguette down her mouth as quickly as she could, and the spluttering/choking sounds Ran could hear made it clear that she was failing.

“Moca… how many times do I have to tell you that what you are doing is dangerous? You could die!” Ran exasperatingly said.

“Argh- _ yum this baguette tastes delicious-Kkkg- _ hel-p- _ but actually this is yummy- _ excep-t-koff-”Moca spluttered.

“For the choking part,” finished Ran, patting Moca’s back.

“I’ll get some water, okay?”

Moca nodded and Ran ran over to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water.

When she came back, the baguette was gone and replaced by a happy Moca ball lying contently on the bed.

“I-I don’t know if I should be surprised or not…” Ran said to herself.

“Hrm? Did you~” Moca yawned. “Sa-ay something?~”

Ran put the glass of water down and hurried over to Moca. “Nothing.”

“Oh~ okay then. Guess I’m off to sleep then~ G’night, Ran-chan~” Moca drawled. 

“H-hey! Moca, you have to at least brush your teeth! Moca? Moca, wake up!” Ran shook Moca’s shoulders intensely but it was of no use.

Moca gave off a tiny little yawn and snuggled into Ran like how a cat would.

_ Aw, she’s so cute…  _ , Ran thought, a hand unknowingly drifting towards Moca’s hair to headpat her.

_ Ehh?!  _ Ran turned bright red and yanked her hand back quickly, still blushing.  _ Ohhh, you better be sleeping Moca, or else I don’t know how I’ll live this down… _

“Mm, it’s okay, Ran-chan~, it’s perfectly understandable. Moca is just too adorable,” teased Moca with a smirk, even though her eyes were still closed.

Her face turned serious, a rare sight. “Even though we’re doing Mocatastic the same as always, it’s okay to worry sometimes too Ran. We’ll always be together, so don’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay?” she said softly, opening her eyes slowly so dark green eyes met light red.

Ran was at a loss- she was afraid her face would be cherry red for the rest of her life, and Moca just said something seriously, something that didn’t happen all that often.

“It’ll ruin your beautiful face too~ and Moca-chan wouldn’t want that at all~,” Moca added. “But the point is, don’t stress too much because the great Moca-chan will lend you all her strength and wisdom and help too,” she said.

Ran didn’t know whether to play it off as a joke and try to stop flushing an even deeper shade of red or to… but something about Moca’s tone was earnest and honest, and Ran knew that Moca really meant what she said. Trying to stop her thumping heart from beating out of her chest, Ran steeled herself and whispered quietly, “Thanks, Moca. That... really meant… a lot to me. Things have actually been tough for a while now, and I was worried that our  _ itsumodoori  _ would change forever. But you’re right. We’ll find a way, together, and with the rest of Afterglow.”

Ran covered her eyes with her hands, but after a long stretch of silence she peeked at Moca, who was…  _ fast asleep?? _

Moca was right in the end again. Some things, and people, never changed. With a small smile and content sigh, Ran gently laid a hand on Moca’s soft hair and drifted off into a dreamland complete with bread and guitars. 

_ Thank you, Moca, for always being there for me… and you know that I mean it when I say I’ll always be with you until the day I die. _

**Author's Note:**

> sifting through my old google docs when I found this. I slightly edited it and added an ending. Still a bit uneasy cause I just discovered my old writing is more enjoyable to read than my current writing... (and I thought I had improved, too!)


End file.
